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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24562579">The Sweet Voice Always Works</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/chonkadonk/pseuds/chonkadonk'>chonkadonk</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>HLVRAI - Fandom, Half-Life, Half-Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Domestic Fluff, M/M, Parenthood</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:54:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>634</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24562579</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/chonkadonk/pseuds/chonkadonk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>when benrey is just trying to game (tm), he's disturbed by the sound of joshua crying and goes to investigate</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Benrey/Gordon Freeman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>460</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Sweet Voice Always Works</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>inspired by art i've seen on tumblr of this scenario!! specifically frostios' art here: https://frostios.tumblr.com/post/619923086942322688/uses-the-sweet-voice-to-calm-down-the-cringe-baby</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“bro, fuck these fish man — hard to catch and shit...” Buttons clicked loudly as Benrey ran aimlessly through his island in Animal Crossing — before a sudden, loud wail broke the silence of the apartment, one that made him nearly jump out of his skin. It was coming from Joshua’s room... shit. Something had to have woken him up; it was past midnight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dropping his Nintendo Switch</span>
  <span>TM</span>
  <span> on the couch, Benrey was quick to slip himself into the child’s room. Gordon had been struggling with sleep the past few nights and had actually managed to fall asleep early tonight, and he didn’t want anything to wake him up. How hard would it be to deal with a kid, anyways?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Opening the door, he saw Joshua sitting up in his bed, and part of him felt a pang of distress seeing the toddler sobbing like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“hey lil man. some cringe shit happen and wake you up?” He sat himself down in the chair beside the bed, and then immediately found himself being climbed upon by the four year old.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“B-Ben—hic—Benny—” The young boy hiccuped, grabbing on tightly to Benrey’s hoodie. God, this just hurt to see. Benrey and Gordon hadn’t been together long, but already he had started to take to seeing Josh as his own kid, or, at the very least, had definitely started to care about him a lot. Plus... it was just not fun to see kids cry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“what happened, bro? you have an epic fail in a dream? got scared?” He couldn’t help another pang, this time of guilt, as the boy began to cry more. “...shit. had a nightmare, huh, bud? yeah. those are big sucks.” Awkward hands patted the boy on his back, trying to give him some sense of comfort as he sobbed quietly into Benrey’s chest. What the hell was he supposed to do...?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then an idea hit him. Shifting himself slightly so that he was more comfortable, Benrey began to hum, letting his eyes close, before opening his mouth, letting a collection of orbs fly from his mouth, shifting from a brilliant sunset orange to a deep navy blue, a sweet, light note accompanying them. Joshua’s sobs began to peter out, tears slowing as he looked up at the suddenly appearing pretty lights. They seemed to soothe him, his hiccups quieting, his eyes beginning to droop.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a few minutes, Benrey realized the boy had fallen completely silent, and, sure enough, when he had opened his eyes again, Joshua Freeman was fast asleep. A smile tugged at his lips. But then he realized he was kind of... stuck. He could </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> bring himself to move; what if he woke Josh up again? The kid had just gotten to sleep, he didn’t want to get him riled up again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe... he could just rest his eyes for a bit...</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next morning Gordon woke in bed, realizing the other side was cold and empty — Benrey hadn’t joined him the night before. </span>
  <em>
    <span>God dammit,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I swear to God if he fell asleep on the couch again...</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After stretching and slipping on his prosthetic, Gordon got to his feet and out of bed. As he headed to the living room, he noticed that Joshua’s door was cracked open. Poking his head in to make sure Josh hadn’t gotten up in the night, he instead felt his heart flutter slightly at the scene before him. Joshua was curled up in Benrey’s arms, both of them fast asleep — and the air littered with orbs that Gordon recognized as Benrey’s “Sweet Voice.” The color combo was one that he didn’t recognize, so, after snapping a quick picture, he texted Tommy to find out what it meant.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, mr. freeman!!! Orange to blue means i’m here for you!!!!!! :)”</span>
</p>
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